Ninja: The Invisible Assassins

I think it's important to remember that this book was written back in 1970. It is almost funny to have so much of the book dedicated to just what a ninja IS - having to lay out in detail that they liked to sneak around, that they were hired assassins, that they threw mysterious objects called shurikens and dropped other mysterious objects called caltrops. I think every movie-watching person alive in modern times has SEEN many movies about ninja, knows what they are like, what they do and so on. Mr. Adams starts from the beginning. he compares ninja to Spartans, which again is funny to me, implying that everybody knows about the Spartan lifestyle, culture and training program but knows nothing about ninja. I would have to guess that, aside from the people who watched "300", that most people in modern times know little about Spartans and know a fair amount about ninjas. On to the comparisons, Adams then talks about how ninja were like American Indians - they could walk noiselessly, cover long distances, hear hoofbeats through ground vibrations. He says they are like 007 spies, with gadgets and disguises to get the job done. OK, yes, we get it. Ninjas are highly trained from birth super-assassins with a plethora of weapons and disguises at their arsenal to get the job done. They would rather die than give away their clan's secrets. They were so effective and feared that in the 1600s the Tokugawa regime banned ninjutsu to the point that even mentioning it could bring death. In that sense, we are extraordinarily lucky that there are even practitioners left in modern times who retain some of the skills and training as well as archival equipment to examine. I do think this book has many valuable lessons. For example, movies often show shurikens thrown as death-weapons to cut someone's throat open. Quite the contrary, these were distraction tools, thrown to get someone to defend their eyes or face while the ninja escaped. Many of the ninja's feats were amazing but of course quite explainable. They could dislocate limbs at will, much like magicians do to perform tricks. They could endure amazing amounts of cold and hunger, and hold their breath for long periods of time, again due to long, well choreographed training. They had the balance of a gymnast. The martial arts training of a black belt. They were taught these things from birth and their loyalty to their clan was above all else. So yes, things like the ninja breathing through bamboo tubes might have been amazing to read about back in the 1970s, but by now that sort of "trick" is well known to any action movie watcher. The same is true for a lot of what this book touts. I'm not saying the book is bad! It was amazing and fresh back in 1970. However, in modern times you can get several books on ninja which do not feel the need to spend page after page giving strange references to try to help us understand the basics of ninjutsu. The more modern books can give a much more rich depth to the topic, g

Ninja: The Invisible Assassins is one of the first books to introduce ninjutsu to the English speaking world. My copy of this book was published in 1973. "Cloaked in black from head to toe and concealing a small arsenal of deadly weapons and secret devices, these medieval masterminds of espionage, sabotage, arson and assassination moved stealthily but relentlessly across the pages of Japan's turbulent era, from the 13th to the 17th Centuries." Ninja developed the strangest and most chilling art ever to be brought forth from the vast reaches of Asia. The ninja studied the skills of all of the martial arts of the day, as well as mastering a wide range of unique weapons. Andrew Adams explores many of these weapons, such as the `shinobi-zue' (a staff concealing a hidden chain), the kyoketsu-shogi (a hook-knife with a long cord and attached ring), the well-known shuriken (throwing stars and spikes), and many other weapons that fill the ninja's arsenal. Poisons and curatives were part of the ninja's skills. The ninja's training allowed him to prepare gunpowder and explosives, medicines, poisons, and even concentrate and dehydrate foods to be used on long missions. The ninja were also masters of strategy and espionage. Andres Adams gives us insight into these principles, and their historical application by the various ninja clans. Finally, we are introduced to the leading ninjutsu masters of the modern day (the early 1970s), men such as Yoshiaki Hatsumi, Norihiro Iga-Hakuyusai, and Yumio Nawa. If it can be said that there is a `classic ninjutsu book' it must be Ninja: The Invisible Assassins by Andrew Adams. This book is very well written, illustrated with several photographs and makes a strong effort to be historically accurate while still providing interesting and entertaining reading. If you could have only one book about ninjutsu, it should be this book!

Not bad for being published about 30 years ago (my copy says 1970,if I read it right) The author researched it well, citing several sources with the photo's provided by Soke Masaaki Hatsumi. Information on history and the development of the art while not exhaustive is useful to anyone researching Ninjutsu and it's origins. It does have sections on the weapons and other tools used by the historical ninja and does attempt to dispell some of the myths by explaining how the myths were possibly started. If you are a new student to the Bujinkan then you should consider taking a look for the historical perspective. Not a bad book overall, a bit dated in publishing technique and definatly not an exhaustive source of information but worth a look.

What we have here is a general overview of traditional Japanese Ninjutsu, the author has even featured and spoken to Grandmaster Hatsumi. The book has large B/W photos of Ninjas in various posers and off the unique weaponry of their warrior class. The book opens up with two chapters on the origins and history of the ninja, then its onto weaponry and some ingenious tools of the trade.Following chapters include : poisons and curatives, physical and mental training, strategy, espionage, warfare, penetration of enemy strongholds, tricks, escaping and hiding,famous ninjas in history and the modern day ninja. The book is generally quite informative and anybody interested in the art should be encouraged to read this. No specific techniques are shown and as I have said the book is very general in nature. Enjoy the read.